Spaghetti Squash – Choose and Use

Spaghetti Squash–another one of the veggies I’ve explored and really enjoyed adding to my menu. I could eat spaghetti (the pasta) every day and not get tired of it–in fact, it was something that I did eat multiple times a week before. Luckily I listened to those that suggested this non-starchy veggie and have added it to my foods.

Look for bright color, even tones, firm texture

When looking for spaghetti squash–you want a nice yellow color with even tones and a nice firm texture.

Difficult to cut – can cut in half either direction

I use a serrated ‘bread’ knife to cut mine–some folks will stab it with a fork and then microwave it for a few minutes to soften it up a bit. Just be careful as it is difficult to cut. You can cut it in half on either axis–I usually do lengthwise as I don’t care about the length of my ‘noodles’ that come out of it. For this demo I did both–starting with cutting across the middle.

Scoop out fibers and seeds with large spoon

Once you have cut it and scooped out the fibers and seeds–you are left with this–looks like a squash. While I am cutting and cleaning it out I preheat the oven to 350 (medium heat). I will lightly oil the edges of the squash that will be touching the cookie sheet and I place them face down–that’s it–easy peasy.

Roast them for about an hour–if I know that I’ll be cooking them in a dish/casserole then I will often only roast them for about 45-50 minutes cause I know they’ll cook more in the dish. If I’m using them ‘straight’ as noodles then I cook for about an hour.

After roasting let it cool a bit

Now is when the magic happens–I let them cool a bit so I can easily hold it with just a towel or with my bare hands. Take a regular fork and start scraping the insides with the fork working around the ‘horizontal’ axis of the squash–it comes out just like strands of spaghetti. It’s SO fun!

If you cut it in half from stem to bottom–you’ll get the shorter pieces than if you cut it across the middle so it’s ’round’. Keep scraping until you get to the outer skin.

Piles from 1 squash

From here you can use it as you would pasta noodles–I like it with a nice meat/mushroom marinara or with a cheesy alfredo sauce. I have kept it in the fridge for several days and been OK but if I know that I won’t use it soon I will put it into a bag and freeze it. It does lose a bit of its moisture when frozen and thawed–so I only use frozen and thawed squash in casserole type dishes.